Heritage of Fire
by Solarius Scorch
Summary: Twenty years into the future, the war is long over. Although our heroes are getting old, a new generation of ninjas rises in Konoha and beyond. Will they prove worthy of inheriting the Will of Fire? An entry for the 19th and 21st MLSF fanfic challenge.
1. The Desert Trial

_This fic was created for the 19__th__ fanfic challenge organised by the Mostly Lucky Star Forum (see my profile for details). The theme of the challenge was: _The Next Generation_ (pick your fandom and write about their kids). I decided to go with Naruto, because it's something I haven't done before and also because I like shounen a bit too much for a person my age._

* * *

><p>Kushina sighed and rubbed her hair vigorously, trying to get the annoying sand out of them. Not that it would help much; this place was a freaking desert after all.<p>

"Oooh, I'm totally fed up with this place!" she whined, leaning against a tombstone. "This exam is taking forever. Why couldn't they make it any faster? What's the point in making us go through this stupid search!"

"Oh come on", sighed her teammate Miramaru, whose hair was almost as long and fair as hers, yet he didn't seem to mind the place. "You've been at it half an hour ago. I told you it's probably meant to test our perseverance, can't you remember?"

"Yamanaka-kun, but we've been going in circles forever!" Kushina gestured dramatically around to accentuate her point. "If we don't find the token before the others do, then we're done for! And I really want to become chuunin this year."

"Yeah, it'd be better to find it quickly", Miramaru nodded, looking up towards their comrade. "Haiko-chan, do you sense anything new?"

A girl standing on top of a particularly tall tombstone barely shook her head. "No, I don't." She was wearing a green hoodie that obscured most of her face, only her narrow glasses clearly visible. Her bookish appearance combined with apparent emotionless behaviour didn't indicate her legendary heritage, but come to think of it, Kushina wasn't exactly dignified either, although they were both descendants of Hokages.

"Fine", grumbled Kushina after a moment of silence, "let's just go forwards and keep trying. I hope those guys from the other villages are strong enough to get through this, I don't want our exam cancelled or something."

"I don't think it would be so bad to lose a few competitors", Miramaru remarked. "I'd like to avoid battles if possible."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind a little sparring!" Kushina announced with a smug look. "That would surely be better than looking for some stupid tokens. I heard back in the old days, they actually made genins fight to fight during the chuunin exam. My dad said it was fun, so it couldn't be that bad."

"My mom wasn't so sure", answered Miramaru. "Anyway, I heard somewhere that the Kazekage thought that this sort of task would test our abilities to complete the mission quietly and quickly. Knowing her though, we'll probably get plenty of chance to fight anyway."

"Well I can't wait –" Kushina started, but she was interrupted by an unusually sharp voice of Haiko. "Quiet! I'm sensing something now."

"Wh… what is it? Haiko-chan?" Kushina's bad mood vanished within a second, replaced by pure joy and anticipation. "Is it one of the tokens?"

"Likely. But it's moving."

"What, already?" sighed Miramaru. "I was hoping for an untouched one. No battle, no risks. Well, we better go now while we still can. The central dome isn't that far away."

"It's moving underground", Haiko answered curtly.

"Underground? No way…" Kushina's eyes darted from one place to another, like they could pierce the ground and see their prize.

"Yes. And relatively fast."

oooOOOooo

Akagufuzubochi, the Lotus Swirl Cemetery, was one of the most striking marks of the Great Ninja War. Apparently it was created by the infamous Kabuto in his battle against Temari and Kankurou's force who managed to stop the insane scientist from entering Suna. According to the popular knowledge, Kabuto used some powerful jutsu to summon a whole legion of dead shinobi at the same time to throw them against his enemy. Although he ultimately failed, Kabuto's cemetery remained, stretching for many thousands jou across the desert. What's more, despite the fact that the original evil chakra disappeared long ago, the place somehow attracted the most vicious creatures of the sands, including venomous snakes or even giant scorpions. It was a pretty clever move for the Kazekage to use it for the Chuunin exam, there was not much else to be done with the damn place.

The group of young ninja who were trying to catch their breaths weren't in the mood to appreciate the Kazekage's decision though. They were all tired, disappointed and frustrated. Still, they didn't look like they were ready to give up yet.

The most active one was a girl with long, untamed blond hair who that were worn in a ponytail, probably to keep them at least somewhat arranged. She was wearing a white jacket with a black spiral mark on the back and a pair of black pants that only reached a little below her knees. Despite the modest outfit, she clearly had a curvy, feminine figure with large breasts and wide hips. It would take a keen observer to notice that her blue eyes looked a bit unnatural, having square-shaped pupils.

Next to her was a tall boy, also with blond hair, but even longer and fairer than the girl's. He was wearing a greenish-grey outfit that looked a little like glorified karate uniform and a matching cloak to provide comfort against the desert. He was lightly built and had a quite pretty face, but he looked clearly masculine. He was leaning against some trapezium-shaped tomb, looking displeased.

The last member of their group was a girl who looked a few years younger than her comrades. Dressed in green hoodie and a black skirt, she gave off hardly any presence at all, so it was relatively easy to overlook a short wooden sword resting at her hip. Her bespectacled eyes hidden under the hood were focused on her surroundings, quickly darting from one point of interest to the next.

"We lost it because Miramaru couldn't catch up with me!" Kushina complained.

"That's not true", Miramaru lied, still gasping for air. "I was merely… covering… your back." Miramaru had learned long ago that lying was much easier when you were a tall, long-haired bishounen.

Kushina cast him a dirty look; despite her simple nature, somehow she could see through Miramaru's charm with ease. "Well, I guess we should try again. It's a pain, but what else can we do? The token won't find yourself!" she finished with her finger pointing up.

"Yes, yes. Once we have something to follow."

"I have a theory", said Haiko, as softly as she usually did. "The token may be alive, or attached to a creature that travels underground."

"Hmm," Miramaru mused, "that would sort of make sense. Why make it easy for us? Any idiot with chakra perception would find something unmoving if given enough time."

Haiko nodded. "Also, pure chance would play a major role then. The group lucky enough to get near the object first would probably succeed with ease."

"But how do we catch something moving underground?", wondered Kushina. "Are we supposed to dig or what? This little bugger is fast too…"

"I could try and stop it with my Shintenshin, but I'd have to see it long enough to execute the jutsu", said Miramaru, referring to the Yamanaka Clan's trademark technique of Mind Body Switch. "You'd have to take care of this."

"Well, you could try and blow it up", Kushina suggested with a smirk.

Miramaru cast her an annoyed look but restricted himself to a sigh. "I am perfectly aware of the fact I look much like that Deidara person and I've told you many times that I do not enjoy this."

"Okay, okay. Sorry about that, it's hard to remember." Kushina grinned with a hint of embarrassment.

"Are you sure it is a safe plan?", inquired Haiko emotionlessly. "This creature may be exotic."

"I know best that Shintenshin can be dangerous when used on a non-human", answered Miramaru, crossing his arms. "I can do it though, and I'm not a coward."

"Yeah, we'll totally catch that little bastard!" Kushina shook her fist theatrically.

"Your language, Uzumaki-san", Haiko reprimanded her softly. It appeared that their sensei had asked her to keep an eye on Kushina, and Haiko took orders very seriously.

"Tee hee, sorry, Haiko-chan."

"Anyway, we need to find a way to expose it", remarked Miramaru. "Haiko, do you think you're up to it?"

The girl nodded. "I will laid a trap underground."

"Splendid. Then we have a plan."

"Hey, what about me?" asked Kushina. "What's my part?"

"you'll be guarding my body in case it escapes", answered Miramaru. "For all we know, this creature may be pretty strong. We need someone to cover us both."

"Got it!", answered Kushina with her usual enthusiasm. "You can count on me thrashing this monster!"

"Now I feel so much safer", said Miramaru sarcastically. "Well, we'd better go and look for a way to put this plan into action."

"I sense it again", Haiko reported. "Follow me."

They obeyed without fail, following the hooded sensory type genin deeper into the cemetary.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes: I decided to use traditional Japanese units of measure for this story. A jou is a unit of length a little more than the Anglo-American foot, or around one third of metre. I hope it's simple enough and I'm not going to overuse it.<em>

_When it comes to other Japanese stuff like the honorifics, I'll try to be reasonable about it. Still, I felt some basics were welcome; they fit well with the Naruto universe and most Naruto fanfic readers __will probably__ understand what "chan" means. I promise not to go crazy with them though. I also tried to keep jutsu names in Japanese, because in any other language I know they sound lame, but will try to make sure to provide a translation if necessary._


	2. The Prey or The Predator

For what seemed like a hundredth time, Haiko kneeled and stuck her wooden sword into the ground.

"Mokuton no jutsu!", she commanded, concentration showing on her face a brief moment. Then a number of roots burst forth from her sword, crawling under the sand and binding it. It was hard to tell from the surface, but according to Haiko's earlier explanation, the roots formed a strong underground net that stretched many jous below. The genin squad hoped that the net was durable enough to affect the mysterious carrier of the token. The thing they were so desperate to find was half the key to the next step of the chuunin exam they were currently undertaking and there were only as many tokens out there as the number of the squads, which meant that only half the teams would succeed at best.

"Are you done now?", asked Kushina. She was getting bored and she didn't care to hide it much.

Haiko merely nodded. "Yes." She said nothing more, but she seemed a little tired. Laying this complex trap must have been already taking its toll for her small body.

"Great." Kushina stretched. "Then I'll be on my way. No time to be sitting around now!"

She and headed towards where the creature was supposed to be staying. The updated plan was meant for her to go around the token carrier and then chase it towards Haiko's trap, where it hopefully would have to surface in order to pass. There it would be intercepted by Miramaru's Shintenshin technique or failing that, stopped by Haiko's blade. The Wood element user had calculated that Kushina moving at her maximum speed wouldn't be far away then, so she should still be able to participate in combat if necessary. The only question was whether their prey would cooperate.

Kushina wasn't worried; between being a Hokage's daughter and a very energetic teenager, she rarely had time for worrying. She wasn't considered very bright by most villagers, but she had her father's stubbornness and also her Hyuuga mother's patience when necessary. Trained be the frog masters for most of her life, she knew perfectly well what path she should take to approach the mysterious burrower.

There it was! She wasn't a sensory type like Haiko, but she could tell that there was something under the sands, slowly moving just below the… well, whatever there was at the bottom of the graves. Kushina grinned; _here we go!_ Just in case, she opened her kunai pouch and simply ran towards the target.

As soon as she approached, the creature broke into a gallop, moving as fast as the young ninja. Being so close, Kushina could feel slight tremors as the creature moved through the sand like it was water. It was impossible for anything to move underground that fast, so it must have been using some technique, probably Doton. Kushina found herself anticipating a battle of some sort; this opponent was strong, and she intended to not only pass this exam, but also do it in style.

After a minute of running down a narrow alley between tombs, Kushina noticed her friends waiting to spring the trap. Miramaru was already making seals for the Mind Body Switch, his face completely still with concentration. Haiko was a little closer, maintaining a battle stance, holding her bokken with both hands. Now it would only be two seconds until the creature runs into the web of roots… One second…

A few heartbeats of silence passed, the creature apparently frozen in place. Then the earth exploded with a deafening sound much like some giant placing his mouth against the ground and saying: oomph! A fountain of sand and pebbles rained on all three genins, obscuring their view and throwing Kushina into a fit of coughing. Still, they were able to make out a large body rising from beneath the sand, any details of it obscured by the falling dust.

Miramaru didn't wait for the area to become clear again. "Shintenshin no jutsu!" he yelled at the creature, finishing his set of seals. Miramaru's eyes immediately went blank and he fell to the sand like a log.

Both Kushina stopped, assuming a battle stance much like Haiko. The dust was still settling, slowly revealing the burrowing creature. Time seemed to come to a halt as Kushina tried to evaluate the situation, just like the frog sensei taught her.

"Er… Are you okay, Yamanaka…?" she inquired, still unsure what they were hunting.

Then Miramaru jerked up and screamed, clutching his head and rolling away from his target. Now the dust settled enough to reveal a horrible sight. The creature was an enormous worm with a bulbous body that seemed to be covered by some sort of chitin armour. It slowly rose above the sand, its body arched like a huge tyre, and gave a deafening howl that sent the dust flying again.

"What the hell is that thing!", Kushina bellowed, struggling to be heard over the infernal sound. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed a kunai and threw against the creature's back. It bounced off the chitin plates harmlessly, but the monster noticed and by arching its entire body, it turned towards the busty blonde. It possessed no head or visible sensory organs, the only thing at its end was a huge, round mouth surrounded by several tentacle-like appendages, each as long as an adult person.

Kushina produced another kunai, for now without any clues on how to use it properly. Her square pupils narrowed as she observed the giant worm's movements. She glanced to check on her teammates once; Miramaru seemed to be recovering and Haiko was already performing her lightning fast seals.

The monster briefly howled again and it launched itself towards Kushina. She ducked and rolled, barely getting away from the worm's strike. She felt the enormous mass of armoured flesh smashing the ground behind her, creating a wave of sand that pushed her even further; she rolled uncontrollably for a dozen extra jou and finally stopped by hitting a tombstone, her senses momentarily disabled by the monstrous shockwave.

Before she recovered, Haiko was already executiong her Mokuton. Upon her command, hundreds of sprouts shot from beneath the now prone worm, quickly growing up its sides, thickening and hardening in the blink of an eye. A few seconds later, the entire creature was tied down by a tight net of branches of the Wood Release Trap.

"Mokutori no jutsu", announced Haiko with a calm but now strong voice. "Low quality due to no water nearby, so pay attention."

Both Kushina and Miramaru stood up and warily approached the creature. It was at least twenty jou long, its rear still beneath the surface. It was also so thick that it could easily fill the entire escape tunnel back in Konoha. Its hard hide was the colour of reddish clay, here and there dotted with black spots and smudges. The twitching appendages around its mouth were each pinned to the ground separately with branches of the Mokutori that resembled desert vegetation.

"Wow, good job, Haiko", said Miramaru. Haiko didn't respond, observing the creature intently.

Then the worm emitted an annoyed grumble and trembled, trying to shook the annoying shackles. As it flexed its muscles, the leafless branches started cracking loudly, small pieces of dry wood falling down its sides. Before the team could react, the monster suddenly jerked up with amazing speed considering its size, effortlessly breaking away from the wooden prison.

"Damn it!" Miramaru barked and reached inside his cloak, producing a scroll. He expertly unfurled it, holding it in one hand and using the other to form a seal, but not before biting on it to get blood.

"Summoning no jutsu!", he commanded. He grabbed the scroll with both hands, holding it up in the monster's direction. A stream of water under high pressure jetted out of the scroll, hitting the worm across its mouth and pushing Miramaru back a few jou, his feet leaving long traces in the sand until his back hit a wall of a tomb.

The worm leaned back slightly. Its head and mouth must have been more vulnerable than its skin, so it was either in pain or disoriented, moving unsteadily in the sand that was quickly turning into a muddy pool. Either way, Kushina took this opportunity to strike. "Okay, let's knock it out!", she shouted. She extended her arm, palm upwards. "Rasengan!"

The worm didn't wait for her long enough to finish her technique though. Instead it turned away from Miramaru's water attack and spotted Haiko, who was standing a bit further motionlessly, observing every move of the creature, wooden sword in hand.

"Haiko, watch out!" Miramaru bellowed, struggling to hold the scroll in place. Anticipating an attack, the Mokuton user ducked and rolled away from the creature to among in the gravestones. However, her strength and reach weren't on par with Kushina's, so she only barely managed to avoid the crushing attack and ended up almost directly in front of the creature's head. The monster didn't miss this opportunity, striking with its long tentacles.

"Haiko-chan!" screamed Kushina in horror, still working on her Rasengan.

Senju Haiko met her opponent sword in hand, with one knee on the ground and the other leg ready for a jump. She was looking at the huge mouth from no more than ten jou now; it seemed to have no teeth or indeed anything else, just a black hole surrounded by five tentacles. The creature also seemed to possess eyes after all, one black bead at the base of each tentacle. There was something off about those eyes, but she didn't have the time to analyze it.

The tentacle lashed at her like a whip. She moved slightly out of the way, placing her wooden sword right where she had been half a second earlier. As predicted, the fleshy appendage curled itself around the weapon and then tried to jerk the weapon from Haiko's hands. The small genin wasn't prepared to lose her weapon though, allowing herself to be lifted in the air along her sword.

"Haiko, hold on! We're coming!" Miramaru shouted, discarding his scroll that was still pouring water, albeit it was but a trickle now compared to the initial burst and desperately reaching for a kunai.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes: What did you expect, a Naruto fic with no dramatic mid-fight cliffhangers? :) Also, from now on I'll be including explanations of any jutsu of my own design. Treat it as a bonus if you wish, that's what I'd like.<em>

_**Mokutori**__** no jutsu (Wood Release Trap):**__ a variation on Yamato's __Shichuurou no jutsu (Four-Pillar Prison Technique). Instead of creating a self-supporting wooden cage, this technique creates sprouts around the target that climbs up their body as vines, thickening and strengthening in seconds. If successful, the victim is imprisoned in a tight knot of branches covering their body. __Mokutori__ is dangerous and painful to the target, because it can suffocate them or even crush parts of their body. Since this technique is relatively slow and easy to notice, it has little chance of affecting an opponent that isn't already prone, so its use in battle is severely limited._


	3. The Summoner

"Kushina, are you ready!" yelled Miramaru, discarding his failing scroll of water summoning and grabbing a kunai.

"Yeah!" nodded the blonde girl, holding her swirling sphere of air away from her body. "Here I go, Haiko-chan!"

The Mokuton using girl was dangling from her own bokken, which was held by a long tentacle belonging to the monstrous worm-like creature. She glanced to the side and noticed the worm's fanged mouth uncomfortably close, gaping like a black, dried out well; she could hear a soft sucking noise emanating from inside, but there was no particular scent. Behind the glasses, her eyes got rounder and she gulped. However, the monster apparently had no intention of swallowing its tiny prey. Instead it started waving the tentacle wildly, trying to get rid of the annoying little ninja. Haiko silently gripped her bokken, her palms turning white.

After a few seconds of fruitless waving Haiko around, the worm changed its tactics. It turned sharply and extended its tentacles, attempting to slam Haiko into a particularly tall tombstone nearby. However, in the last moment Haiko's bokken snapped, the girl flying above the tombstone and finally crouching on top of it, her left hand gripping a wooden stump.

Seeing her friend unharmed, Kushina grinned with relief, but she instantly refocused on her foe. The enormous worm was towering over her, three time as tall as herself. Luckily it was bent now, momentarily creating a steep path up its back. The blond ninja didn't miss this opportunity, her sandals tapping a staccato against the monster's chitin plates.

"Rasengan!" she bellowed, raising her right hand that was holding a bluish sphere over her head and then striking from above, a bright smudge trailing behind the sphere.

Kushina squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a fountain of yellow bile spurting from the wound or something equally disgusting. What happened was completely unexpected though: her feet and striking hand lost contact with the monster's body and out of the blue she started falling. Kushina opened her eyes to check what was going on, but all she could see was rapidly approaching ground; the giant worm was nowhere to be seen.

The blonde ninja positioned herself for a graceful landing, but the slippery mud left from Miramaru's water attack wasn't what she was accustomed to and she fell on her face into a puddle. She sprung back immediately, spluttering and casting wild glances left and right, but she could not see nor feel the danger.

"Where… Where did it go?", she inquired.

"It would seem", answered approaching Miramaru matter-of-factly, "that it was a summon. You've managed to dispel it nicely."

"Oh… a summon. Right." Kushina got on her feet, wiping sandy mud off her eyes, which prompted Miramaru to chuckle. "Using war paint now? How professional."

"Shu up, you twiggy water freak!" Kushina growled, throwing a ball of mud which Miramaru expertly dodged. She stomped out of the puddle, shaking her head to get the wet sand out of her unruly hair. She had a proud smile on her face though; this battle was definitely something to brag about in the future.

Miramaru stopped chuckling. "Wait! The token. Can you find the token?"

"Oh, right, that thing." Kushina looked around, immediately spotting a silvery plate stuck in the mud. "Is this it?", she asked, picking it up. It was about the size of a kunai and had a single seal inscribed on it, one she didn't know.

"Oh, that's a relief. I was afraid it would have disappeared with the monster. But I guess that would be against the rules." He glanced at his other comrade. "Haiko-chan, is your sword okay?"

Haiko jumped off the tombstone and approached her teammates, the remains of her bokken still in her left hand. "Boshuuken is never truly broken", she said softly. "I will regrow it later. But there is something else I have noticed. The summon probably was not sent here by its master. It seemed to be influenced by a genjutsu."

"A genjutsu?", Kushina repeated, wiping the plate against her pants. "But isn't it, like, very hard to cast a genjutsu on a summoned creature?"

"It is", confirmed Miramaru. "And that's bad news."

"Why?"

"Because if Haiko-chan is right, we may be against a genjutsu expert. One that may be too strong to be a chuunin candidate."

The party felt silent for a moment.

"Do you suspect some sort of trouble?" Kushina asked. "Like, someone's interfering with the exam?"

"That would be kinda clichéd… But we can't really say it's not the case", said Miramaru tentatively. "Haiko-chan, do you have anything to add?"

Haiko shook her head slowly. "I detected nothing else."

"Well I don't think it's all that likely", Kushina mused. "Anyway, certainly not enough to abandoning the exam, right? That would be totally childish!"

"I agree", Miramaru nodded. "But it seems that we're against someone strong. We should be prepared for anything."

"How fortunate that we have an anti-genjutsu specialist with us then!" Kushina exclaimed with a huge smile on her face, throwing her arm around Miramaru's shoulders. The boy grimaced at the sudden show of affection from the curvy girl, even if it was a little mischievous. He didn't mind the mud still covering her clothes; being Water type made him virtually stain-proof. "Yeah, yeah, I'll save your butts if necessary."

"The enemy may be nearby", Haiko interrupted in her usual soft but down-to-business tone. "We should relocate. I suggest finding an open crypt to rest and hold a meeting."

"An opened crypt… That's not scary at all", said Kushina with a smile that was more than slightly uncomfortable now.

oooOOOooo

Finding an appropriate place wasn't hard, considering that Akagufuzubochi used to be a cemetery of living death, so most tombstones were open anyway. The one where they found a shelter must have belonged to some kind of an ancient swordmaster; the walls were decorated with reliefs of various kata and barely readable inscriptions of haiku and fighting-related proverbs. It looked more like a miniature dojo than a tomb, with the single but painfully obvious exception being an empty stone coffin standing in the middle, its granite lid casually cast aside. At least there was enough light creeping into the burial chamber to see properly.

The group sat with their eyes towards the entrance. They hadn't laid any traps, not planning on staying here for long.

"Gosh, I'm sleepy", Kushina yawned and stretched. Luckily, her jacket was loose enough to not tear at the front.

Miramaru ostentatiously ignored the sight to his left side. "Isn't it too early to make a camp? We could, but it's not like we can relax now. Someone seems to be following us, maybe even with a desire to see us dead."

Kushina gave him a dignified look. "I didn't mean we should be resting! I was only saying I was a bit sleepy. Do you think I could even sleep right now? I'm all pumped up for a fight!"

"Normally I'd say it's contradictory, but I actually believe you."

Haiko, who was sitting on Kushina's other side, didn't interrupt their banter. Instead she ran another scan of their environments. She didn't quite admit to her teammates that her sensory abilities were diminished in this environment; they largely depended on connecting to nearby living plants and there were very little of them here. Nevertheless, she was still the most perceptive of the three and she knew they were counting on her.

After a moment of silence, Miramaru took out some rations and shared them with Kushina, sensing that Haiko wouldn't want one now. "So, Kushina… I understand you want to go and look for the one that attacked us, right?"

Kushina nodded. "Oh yeah. I don't like being followed. They should fight us fair and square, or I'll make them to." She took a bite and glanced sideways at Miramaru. "What about you, Yamanaka? You'd probably prefer losing them and doing our task silently, eh?"

"Nope. In this case, I think you're right. I've been thinking about it and those people, or person, seem like a logical target. You know why, ladies?"

"Yes", Haiko answered. "If this person is a genjutsu specialist, we can capitalize on Yamanaka-san's resistance to genjutsu. Moreover, it will be easier to track someone who is tracking us. Finally, they wasted a token on a trap to eliminate our squad, which means that they probably have one or even two tokens with them; they probably wouldn't risk their only token otherwise."

"Wow, Haiko-chan!", Kushina beamed at the smaller girl. "When I'm important enough to assign people to jobs, I'm definitely putting you in the ANBU."

"So it's decided", Miramaru concluded, swallowing the last piece of his tiny meal. "Finish your business and move it, people. I don't want to fight a genjutsu user after dark."


	4. The Mad Samurai

_This story was started as a challenge fic for the 19th Mostly Lucky Star Forum challenge. From now on it is also an entry for the 21st Mostly Lucky Star Forum challenge, with disability as the theme. I did not alter anything in the plot to fit the story with the theme, since it was already fitting._

* * *

><p>"Hey, guys… Don't you think it's too quiet?"<p>

Miramaru turned towards Kushina. "Eh? Something on your mind?"

The group was still travelling across the enormous burial grounds. The fact that it was created by one of the most sinister shinobi that ever lived and that every single tomb was empty somehow made it even more grim than a real cemetery; not exactly scarier, but more depressing.

"Only that I've been expecting a fight every now and then, with this being the chuunin exam and all. I know it's less… less…"

"…confrontational…?"

"…yeah, that, than it used to be, but hey, where are the others? It wouldn't make sense to set up an exam where you're supposed to test your skills against the others, but you can't even find them!"

"You might have a point", Miramaru mused. "We haven't seen anyone yet, and it seems nobody has found us either. Well, except for that genjutsu person."

"Yeah, that's weird…"

"Indeed. I don't like this…" Miramaru stroke his chin, as he often did when he was thinking. "Can you sense anything, Haiko?"

The quiet bespectacled kunoichi, whose senses currently were their only clue as to what direction they should take, slowly shook her head. "Nothing new. I can only trace the path that summoned creature took when approaching us."

Kushina sighed. "Then we can only follow it and hope for the best."

Miramaru wasn't ready to simply accept it yet. "Walking straight into a trap is still not on my to-do list. We need to be extra careful. I wonder if Konohamaru-sensei ever told us something that could help us now…" He nervously swept his long hair back, even though it wasn't actually necessary.

"Hey, Yamanaka-kun…" said Kushina; her voice was somewhat different from the usual cheerfulness, like it suddenly got a tad deeper. "You're totally panicking here, you know?"

"What? I merely…"

"Stop it. You are forgetting something important." Kushina turned toward the third member of their group. "Forgetting that we have the best damn sensory ninja of all the genin in Konoha, and probably the chuunin too! Remember how she saved us in the Land of Grass? There's no way she would miss any trap. Right, Haiko-chan?"

The little ninja did not respond; her entire face was hidden behind her hood, save for a thin line of her lips.

Kushina blinked, then smiled and lowered herself in front of her small companion. "Don't tell me you doubt yourself as well. I know you can do it. I totally believe in you."

"But…"

"Mmm? What is it?"

"But…" Haiko's voice was barely audible. "The grass… There is none here. I cannot be as alert as then… what you said. I am sorry…"

Kushina didn't seem taken aback by her friend's admittance. "That's okay, Haiko. I know you've practice a lot with your sensory exercises to become a _kanchi_. Do you think I would ask this from you if I weren't absolutely, totally sure that you could do it?" She placed her hand on Haiko's shoulder and squeezed, giving her a closed eyes smile. "You just need to realize it too, and you'll be able to detect anything."

"Okay…" Haiko blushed visibly under her hood. "I'll try. I mean, I will do my best."

"Good!" Kushina grinned, raising back to her feet. "Then there's not a thing in this world that can stop us from getting that token." She put her hands on her hips. "No time to waste! Team Uzumaki, we're moving!"

"Team Uzumaki, my ass", muttered Miramaru, but he dropped his objections and followed the blonde obediently. Seeing Haiko having made up her mind, there was no point in arguing with her and Kushina at the same time, since they both of them could be extremely stubborn. What's more, he was actually curious about their mysterious opponent; this person seemed not only dangerous, but also rather cheeky.

oooOOOooo

The Roaring Valley was considered one of the more gloomy spots of the enormous necropolis: a round low hill, split in two by a single attack of the Nine Tails long ago, it looked like a plump creature whose bloated corpse cracked in a most unpleasant way.

The hill was free of graves, only some loose stones were sticking from underneath the thin layer of sand. In the valley itself though, a number of dried trees surrounded its central feature: a small, salty lake.

It was this lake they secretly observed from a distance, or rather a lone figure that stood in front of it. Completely unmoving, it looked like a statue of a teenage boy with unruly hair, dressed in a heavy robe of sorts that looked strangely out of place on a ninja. He was also holding two curved blades that crossed at their tips, just above the sandy ground. His head was slightly lowered, which made him look like one of those warrior sculptures Ebisu-sensei kept in his house to be periodically cleaned by genins.

"Haiko-chan, do you think it's our culprit?", whispered Kushina. Miramaru made a face at her whisper, which was far from stealthy.

Haiko returned the gaze. "Of this I am not sure. But the track ends here."

"And is there anyone else?" Kushina asked.

"None that I can sense."

"Good enough for me. Let's go!" Kushina got up, pushing a strand of her hair away from her eyes.

Within a second, Miramaru grabbed her hips and pushed her down again unceremoniously. "Are you _insane_? Where's your tactics?"

Kushina shrugged. "Well, he looks like he's looking forward to a fight, and frankly I am too. Since Haiko-chan didn't spot any traps, I say we may as well do it. We can't be sitting around all day!

Miramaru gave her a hard stare; then he looked at Haiko, who looked as emotionless as usual, and he sighed. "Okay, if you insist, fine, have it your way this time."_ We don't have much up our sleeves anyway_, he added to himself. "But let's coordinate it at least."

"Fine. Then you're with me, Yamanaka. Haiko-chan, support us, okay?"

None of them objected.

"Okay then. We're going to kick his ass!"

The area around the lake was completely open, which indicated that the swordsman took no precautions against being found. On the other hand, this made him virtually impossible to sneak upon without specialized _jutsu_ that the team didn't have. The best option was to simply approach the swordsman of foot and watch out for surprises, which they did: Kushina walking at the front, Miramaru a little behind her and to the left, and Haiko following them while maintaining some distance.

As they were closing the distance at a brisk pace, the lonely figure seemed to pay them no heed, still gripping his swords and looking at some point on the ground ahead of him. He was about sixteen years old, tall and rather heavily built, although his body was covered with the thick robes and difficult to appraise. On his forehead he wore a skew hitai-ate with the symbol of Amegakure, the Village Hidden in Rain.

With their kunai drown, Kushina and Miramaru stopped a short distance from the swordsman. He still didn't react to their presence at all.

"Hey, you!" Kushina addressed him starkly. "Are you in the chuunin exam too?"

The boy slowly raised his gaze at her, but did not respond.

"Careful, Uzumaki, he may be under genjutsu", Miramaru half-whispered.

Kushina barely nodded. "Who are you? Did you send this huge worm to attack us?" she pressed.

"You…" The boy's voice was flat and gentle, his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. Do you…"

"You killed my mother!" he bellowed, raising his swords suddenly and with great force. "Die!"

Kushina barely had the time to spot two charges of wind chakra running down his blades, and in the next moment he swung the swords at the both of them: first at Kushina and immediately after at Miramaru. The girl felt a pressure of wind rapidly approaching her; recognizing an air blade technique, she leaped to the side to get off its course. She mostly succeeded, but the howling attack painfully cut both her side, tearing the fabric of her white outfit and some of the skin underneath.

Rolling away in pain, Kushina dropped her kunai, but managed to remain in control of her trajectory. She immediately got up, reaching for another kunai to replace the lost one. She saw Miramaru recovering from a dodge as well; he seemed completely unharmed, which annoyed her a little. She immediately returned her gaze to the swordsman though, who was now sprinting towards her with his blades spread to the sides like wings of a sparrow. His robe was half-open now, revealing a metallic armour underneath: an armour of a samurai from Tetsu no Kuni, the Land of Iron.

Kushina gritted her teeth. "Oh come on! Genjutsu or not, you should be smarter than this!"


	5. The Hell Girl

_Special thanks go to Shang for pointing out some inconsistencies. They are fixed now._

* * *

><p>Kushina's posture was perfect when the samurai blade met her kunai, the muscles in her arm withstanding the force just well enough to counter it. Still, the strength of the attack pushed Kushina back and threw her off balance, almost knocking her over. She barely had the time to regain her footing before another blade rushed to her side in a wide, horizontal circle. Kushina desperately blocked it with the same kunai, but this time the attack knocked her arm to the side painfully, spinning her around and making her drop her weapon. She used that momentum to jump and roll away from the attacker, praying for the next hit not to come before she was ready.<p>

Fluently getting back to her feet and clutching her right hand, Kushina glanced at the samurai from the Amegakure. Thankfully he was already being engaged by Miramaru, who threw four shuriken at him in rapid succession. Three metal stars hit their mark, but they bounced off the breastplate harmlessly; they succeeded as a diversion though, since the opponent did not follow Kushina, opting to charge Miramaru instead. The blonde ninja narrowed his eyes, preparing for the blow, and started performing hand seals as fast as he could.

"Yamanaka, look out!" Kushina exclaimed. "He's fast!"

Her fears proved to be ungrounded though: as the samurai attacked, Miramaru did an improbable side jump, virtually slithering between the striking blades. He did a double-flip and landed a few steps away from the samurai, panting.

"Suitanrei no jutsu — successful!" he announced, reaching for his kunai. The swordsman was already turning toward him, although he seemed a little more careful now; the Grace of Water jutsu seemed to have surprised him, even though it was actually a desperate move.

"This is getting interesting", Kushina declared, circling around their enemy. "Now I really want to bring him down fast."

"Me too", Miramaru nodded, never looking away from the swordsman. "Just stick to the plan and we'll be fine. Probably."

"Right." Kushina threw her kunai at the swordsman's head, causing him to deflect it with a hilt. "Hey, you! Wanna play with me for a moment?"

"Fine" he growled, lowering his head. His eyes burned with anger, but at the same time they looked strangely distant, like he wasn't completely aware of his surroundings. Still, he ran towards Kushina with incredible speed.

This time Kushina was ready. Not willing to simply be charged again, she also started off towards her opponent with kunai in both hands. The samurai responded by stopping in his tracks and slicing the air once again. Kushina rolled to the side and threw one kunai at the samurai, who in turn deflected it with one swing of his left blade.

"This won't get you far!" he shouted, approaching quickly, his blades ready to strike.

"We'll see". Kushina smirked almost evilly, dropping her other kunai and extending her empty hand forwards. "Rasengan!"

The blade came from above, aiming to split Kushina's head in two like a watermelon. However, it was stopped by a glowing, swirling sphere of air, sending violent vibrations along the blade. The samurai gritted his teeth, trying to break through with his sword, but a second later he was thrown spinning to the side as the rasengan went out violently.

"Hmph." Kushina placed her hand on her hip. "You're not so tough after all."

The samurai got back to his feet. "This didn't hurt at all. And you won't succeed the second time."

"Wow, you're a really slow one. Haiko-chan?"

A patch of grass that the samurai landed on — a patch that certainly wasn't there a minute ago — moved, then each individual blade wrapped around the swordsman's legs, covering his lower body in the blink of the eye. Dumbfounded, he looked at his immobilized feet. He immediately cut off some of the grass, but it was too late.

"Suigeki!" exclaimed Miramaru, his hands forming a geometric seal. Then his body went limp and he fall to the sand like a dropped marionette.

"Argh!" the swordsman's entire body jerked once, then again. Then, with a terrible howl, he fell on his back, one leg still held by the grass. He thrashed about for a short while, then stopped moving entirely.

Miramaru opened his eyes and sat up, blinking. "I think I did it."

Kushina stopped by the motionless body and observed it for a short while, casting a long shadow on the samurai. Then she knelt by his side and tapped his cheeks lightly.

"Oi! Wake up, buddy!"

As the other two approached, the young swordsman slowly opened his eyes. "Uhhhh…"

"Good!" Kushina grinned. "Are you all right? Okay, I don't think you are. But you'll be fine."

"What happened? Where… am I?" The boy's gaze went from Kushina to Haiko, then to Miramaru. "Are you… Leaf ninjas?"

"Yes, we are", Miramaru responded. "You just fought us during the chuunin exam. But I guess you don't recall it."

"Chuunin…" The stranger's dark eyes opened wide. "That girl…! We've been tricked!"

He tried to sit up, but immediately fell back, moaning and gasping for air. Miramaru placed his hand on the samurai's shoulder. "I wouldn't do that. Not for a day or so anyway."

The samurai gave him a defeated look.

Miramaru leaned closer, looking him directly in the eyes. "That girl you mentioned. Who was she?"

"She… she was my teammate." The swordsman looked confused. "Her name was Suzume. She had such beautiful… green eyes… And she betrayed us."

"She betrayed her own team?" Kushina interrupted. "Why on Earth would she do something like that?"

"She… I remember now. She wasn't with us before." His voice hardened. "She replaced one of us near the beginning. Made the rest of us… forget."

"What happened to the third member of your squad?" Miramaru pressed on.

"I don't know… But I think they battled. I remember Hiro summoning his companion worm…"

Miramaru glanced at Kushina, whose face displayed a strange mixture of fascination and repulsion, then at Haiko, whose features remained hidden under the hood, but who seemed even more still than she usually did.

"I think we're getting a little over our heads here."

oooOOOooo

The sun was already casting long shadows in the Roaring Valley, still visible only thanks to the fact that it was setting exactly at the far end of the rift, between its steep slopes. The trio decided to make camp by the Amegakure genin, who fell unconscious before he even gave them his name, or why he was using the equipment and techniques of a samurai from the Land of Iron. There was little to be done to hide their presence in such a scarce environment, so they settled for retreating between some rocks and laying some movement detectors in the form of Haiko's unassuming grass blades.

Now the three was sitting in the shadow of a huge boulder, facing away from the central part of the Valley. Kushina and Miramaru sat against the warm stone while Haiko was laying on her back, gazing at the darkening skies through her rimless glasses.

"Well, at least we have a full picture now", Kushina commented. "More or less."

"Yeah…" Miramaru sighed melancholically. "But I still don't think it was done by a chuunin candidate. It looks like work of a special jounin at least, and a genjutsu specialist to boot."

"Well, they say our generation is particularly gifted", Kushina half-joked.

"Nobody in Konoha could do something like this, though. Not on our level anyway."

Kushina didn't respond for a long while; she simply gazed at a rocky wall, her square-shaped pupils motionless.

"Hey, Yamanaka-kun?" she finally asked.

Miramaru glanced at her briefly. "Yeah?"

"Are you scared?"

The blonde boy snorted. "Me? Scared? That's crazy." In moments like this, Kushina was never sure if he was being serious or sarcastic. "Well, I am a bit worried, since things got so weird. But I guess that's what this exam is: to test your ability to withstand this sort of pressure. To ensure you can make decisions in unexpected situations. This sort of stuff."

"Right. This stuff…" Kushina glanced at Haiko, who seemed entirely ignorant of the exchange. Actually, she seemed to be taking a nap.

"Hey, Uzumaki…" Miramaru picked up again after a while. "Are you scared?"

Kushina slowly shook her head; her gesture was devoid of any tension of denial. "Nah, not really. I'm just… angry. Messing people like this, making them believe things, putting them against their comrades… I wonder what kind of a person does this."

"Well, it's certainly efficient, and it proves your skill as a ninja…"

"Maybe, but it's just… too creepy. That's even worse than betrayal, because if you're a traitor, at least you are the only one who is condemned, see?"

"That's some weird logic, Uzumaki."

"Heh, maybe I'm weird." Kushina placed one arm between the back of her head and the boulder. "But I just think I want to whack that genin until their brain is fixed."

Miramaru chuckled. "You think it'll work for you as well as for your dad? Sorry, the Hokage."

"I don't know before I try, right?" Kushina grinned.

Miramaru sighed. "You are not a jinchuuriki like he is."

Kushina's grin faded instantly. "So what? You think I'm not good enough?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant!" Miramaru knew all too well how much Kushina wanted to prove her worth and not be just the Hokage's daughter.

"Fine, fine", Kushina waved her hand conciliatorily. "I know that person is strong, and that there is a chance that it's not even part of the exam. But still, we can't go back now without forfeiting. And we can get some tokens with this!"

Miramaru nodded.

"And I count on you", Kushina added. "You are pretty much impossible to affect with a genjutsu, right? So we can't lose!"

"That's not really true and you know it. But if it's genjutsu, I'll do what I can."

"She's coming", said Haiko suddenly. "She doesn't seem to be concealing her presence."

"What? Who?" Kushina grabbed a kunai.

"A female. I believe she can see us. Approaching from the west."

Glancing around the boulder, Kushina and Miramaru quickly scanned the Valley, illuminated by the very last rays of the setting sun. Most of it was already plunged in darkness, while the lake was glittering like reddish gold. It was against this patch of light reflected on the water where a single figure could be seen: dressed in dark kimono, with a classic katana hanging at the hip — the right hip, which suggested a left-handed person. The figure had long, dark hair that seemed to merge with the clothes, but it was a rather visible cleavage that unmistakably identified her as a girl. She was walking casually towards the group, only sometimes casting quick glances to the left and right.

"I think you have your chance now, Uzumaki", Miramaru pointed out. "I hope she cooperates."


	6. The Clash of Wills

As the girl slowly approached, her bright green, almost teal eyes studied the Konoha trio's hideout. Her pale face was a mask of indifference, but with a hint of focus and readiness behind her features. Her neat, traditional kimono was adorned with a pattern of small red fans.

"Wow", whispered Kushina, "she has pretty chakra."

"That's not what I'd expect to hear from you", Miramaru whispered back. "But she is kinda pretty. Must be around our age."

Right then moment the stranger stopped, about midway between the lake and the group. She touched the hilt of her sword and twirled it between her slender fingers, almost caressing it, but otherwise went almost perfectly still. It wasn't out of fear of movement though, like from someone trying to remain hidden; it seemed almost lazy, but still not quite so.

"Looks like she found us all right", said Kushina. "There's no point being subtle now. Let's see what she has to say!"

"No!" Miramaru grabbed Kushina's sleeve. "If it's her, she's a genjutsu master, remember? I will deal with her alone. If she manipulates you, you would be a… you know. Haiko-chan, you too."

Kushina sighed. "Fine. But if you're in trouble, we'll coming to save your butt." She smirked. "If you beat her alone, then she's not worthy of fighting me!"

"Modest as always, aren't we." Without further ado, Miramaru got up from behind the boulder and casually strolled around it, stopping about fifteen steps from the girl.

"I am Yamanaka Miramaru, a genin from the Konohagakure. Who are you and what is your business with us?" he addressed her authoritatively.

The girl brought her palm to her hair, sweeping it to the side and revealing her hitai-ate with a single musical note inscribed on it. "My name is Suzume, a genin from Otogakure." Her voice was deep and elegant, but with a trace of arrogance.

"The Sound Village? I thought it was disbanded some twenty-five years ago."

"Apparently it was reformed."

"What are you doing here? Are you trying to interfere with the exam?" Miramaru was also standing still, but his posture seemed much more tense than hers.

"Interfere?" She raised her eyebrows slightly. "That's preposterous. I am here to attain my chuunin rank, like all of you. And to prove my village's worth, also like you."

"Interesting. Does it mean you are here to fight us?"

"It depends. If you give me all your tokens, I will let you go unharmed."

Miramaru frowned. "And why would we do that? I am not afraid of you."

She casted a meaningful glance towards the boulder. "You aren't? And what about your friends, are they too scared to face me?"

"Don't worry about them. I can handle you alone." Miramaru slowly drew a kunai.

"Can you? How naïve." The girl did not actually laugh, but her eyes narrowed in slight amusement. "Then you will be my tool."

Miramaru switched to a defensive stance, grabbing his kunai so that it pointed downwards. "Bring it on!"

The girl closed her eyes; her chakra flickered and went up in strength, and when she looked at Miramaru again, her irises were blood red. She also appeared to have three pupils in each, the outer two forming at the ends of spiral patterns spreading from the central one.

"Impossible! Is this…?" Miramaru actually took a step back.

"Yes. My name is Uchiha Suzume. It is too late to escape me now."

"L- Like I would!" Miramaru's fingers clenched around his kunai. "Whoever you are, I will defeat you here."

"Not even looking away from my sharingan? That's even more naïve. Not that I mind." She started closing the distance between them, gazing into Miramaru's eyes. "Welcome to my world, Yamanaka… My comrade."

Miramaru slowly lowered his armed hand; his other one was behind his back though, forming a simple seal. Suddenly he dropped the weapon and performed a short set of seals with both hands, which caused the enemy to stop in her tracks.

"That was a pleasant vision you gave me", he said dryly, "but me as a Sound ninja and you as a sister of mine is hardly convincing. But if you want, we can still pretend later, since you're cute."

For a second a shade of fury crossed Uchiha's expression, but she quickly returned to the ostentatious indifference. "You managed to defend from my genjutsu? Remarkable."

Miramaru shrugged. "I happen to be quite good at water-based jutsus. Did you know it could control blood flow in your brain? Comes in handy, even if it can knock you out if you overdo it."

She slowly drew her blade. "Is this why you opted to go against me alone? That's clever, but ultimately not very wise. A sharingan can do so much more than that."

"A melee combat? How unrefined." Miramaru returned to his battle stance. "Well, let's see if your skill with sword is as honed as your storytelling."

oooOOOooo

_God damn, she's actually good_, Miramaru thought as he saw a strand of his own hair dispersing in the evening wind. He dodged another strike and blocked the third one with his kunai. The girl was almost as tall as him and her reach was good, far outclassing him and his humble knife. She was also agile and quick on her feet, so finding an opening in her defence would be a problem. A problem he had to resolve soon.

Miramaru rolled to the side and stood up a few metres behind Suzume. "Okay, you are not a pushover. But why are you so determined to get our tokens? You should have enough by now to progress to the next stage, am I right?"

The girl looked at him over her shoulder. "And why would I explain it to you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It could be interesting."

"Tsk. What a nerve." She turned around to face Miramaru again. "But very well, I can see no harm in revealing it. I want all tokens in this exam."

"_All_ of them? How greedy." Miramaru grabbed two shuriken and threw them at Suzume's sandal-clad feet, but she casually stepped away. "And what reason do you have for this, apart from being a show-off?"

"I am not a show-off, although you can call it so. _Katon: Endan!_" Suzume formed a one-handed seal with her free palm, spitting a fireball at Miramaru, but he countered with a _Suitanrei_ and got away from the small explosion. "I simply want my village to be noticed," she continued, "and this is the most effective way to achieve this. Can you imagine the Kazekage's expression when she learns of this, and done by a village nobody's even heard of?"

"That's ambitious, I admit." Flushed from his evasion jutsu, Miramaru kept his defensive stance. "But don't you think you're a bit unrealistic? Even if you beat me and my team, if you beat every other genin you meet in this cemetery, there will be someone who gets to the next stage. You can't be everywhere!"

"Oh, but my tools can. In fact, I am almost done with stealing all tokens in the game." Suzume gripped her katana with both hands. "I have my methods of keeping them under my control long enough for them to bring me their tokens and the ones they get from other teams. Then they can be… disposed of."

"You're one creepy person, Suzume. And, despite your pose, you like to chatter." Having said that, Miramaru suddenly sprinted towards Suzume, his kunai ready to strike in a slash. _This is risky as hell, but I can't win against her in melee combat. And only I can defeat this bitch._

His kunai was aimed to slash just below the girl's throat, but it was blocked with her katana and stopped. For a brief moment they were locked together; he could see her red eyes very close to his own, the spiral patterns in them far more disconcerting than Kushina's square irises.

He finished a quick series of seals with his free hand, the final one formed by lining it against his weapon hand. "_Suigeki!_"

With this, his body lost all energy and was pushed back violently with the sword. The girl did not follow up with an attack though, instead bringing her palms to her temples.

"You… you bastard!" she screamed, taking an unsure step back. "Get — out — of — my head — now!"

Yamanaka coughed and immediately sat up like a mechanical toy. The girl was panting, but his mental attack was clearly unsuccessful; he was good at forming seals one-handed, but apparently not good enough. And his chakra reserves were almost depleted now.

Having lost her cool, Suzume sprinted towards Miramaru with her sword raised, ready to strike before he could get up. She barely noticed a smaller shadow jumping into the fray, blocking her blade with another sword, one made of wood.

Then another shadow jumped in from the opposing side and kicked her squarely in the stomach, sending her a good few meters back with a groan.

Miramaru got up, albeit shakily. "You two, I told you to not interfere…" He paused when he noticed that both Haiko and Kushina had their hitai-ate lowered to cover their eyes.

"Good idea, but be careful. She's really good with swords."

Haiko's voice was extremely sharp. "Direct me."

"Uh, she's like seven steps on your tenth! Be careful."

Suzume was indeed standing there, clutching her stomach. The attack was probably a shock, but it didn't look like it caused any lasting damage. She was perfectly ready to block Haiko's attack and push the small genin way back.

Next, Kushina jumped in front of her and performed a straight, horizontal kick. Suzume dodged it expertly and tried to trip her opponent, but Kushina heard the rustling sand and jumped back, avoiding the counter. Before Suzume stroke with her sword, Miramaru threw another shuriken to distract her; it worked.

"Good! Haiko, lower!" Miramaru shouted, now also charging the enemy. Haiko swung her Boshuuken at Suzume's knee, but was blocked. They exchanged a few blows; Haiko managed to stop every attack thanks to her training and chakra sense, but was unable to compare with Suzume, who was not blinded. Luckily Miramaru was there to engage the dark-haired girl again, diverting her attention from Kushina, who attempted another kick which was barely deflected with Suzume's forearm.

With a swift manoeuvre, Suzume broke off from the melee and landed a few metres away. She was visibly flushed now; despite her advantages, she clearly did not enjoy this encounter as much as before.

"Leaf ninjas as indeed as troublesome as I heard", she stated. "Fighting blind fools will not gain me or my village any glory." She looked up. "Asa! Tatsumaki!"

A shriek of a bird of prey immediately filled the Roaring Valley, a winged shadow appearing against the almost dark skies. It was a giant falcon, its claws big enough to pick up a grown man, and someone was riding on its back.

"Don't look!" Miramaru hissed. "Keep your eyes covered!"

The bird lowered its altitude, soaring above the dark lake. Its rider — another young ninja, this one a small-framed male in loose black outfit — jumped off, splashing the water but not quite piercing its surface, instead rolling and standing up on it. _That's some chakra control_, Miramaru thought.

"Meet the rest of my squad", Suzume said dismissively. "Asa, will you hurry up? We're wrapping up here."

The man nodded and looked up. "It's almost dark, my friend. I know you can't see well, so go and get some rest, will you? By the way, you've done great job tracking down all those losers!"

"My pleasure", answered the falcon with a voice of a surprisingly normal person, probably a young woman. Then it — she? — disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Right." Its rider, Asa, recovered a large scroll from his back and unrolled it with one fluent move. With another one, he bit his thumb and smeared some blood on the parchment. _Kuchiyose no jutsu!_

"What's going on? Is he summoning something?" Kushina inquired. She looked ready to tear the makeshift blindfold off.

"Yes, it's a…" Miramaru blinked. "Hey, it's some guy."

Indeed, next to Asa stood another ninja clad in black, this one much taller. His face was hidden under a black cloth, wrapping his entire head like a sandstorm blocker. He was holding two simple tonfas.

"Now, let's finish this", Suzume commanded. "Get them!"

"That little girl seems like your type of opponent, Tatsumaki-kun", said Asa. "So I'll take care of that guy, if you're fine with that."

The other one only nodded and jumped forward, his feet easily catching the surface of the lake.

Haiko's face was tightened. Kushina, on the other hand, was smirking.

"Looks like I'll get the chance to kick your butt after all, Suzume-chan".


	7. The Scions of Fate

„Honestly, you're too stubborn for your own good", heard Kushina from Uchiha Suzume while standing up for the second time after a painful blow. To her right, she heard Miramaru shouting jutsu releases at the Sound ninja named Asa, who was also yelling with each manoeuvre; to her left, all she could hear was the sound of wood striking against wood, which must have been Haiko's sword meeting that other ninja's tonfas.

"How did you get in the tournament?" asked Kushina, waving her kunai in a defensive stance, trying to predict where the next blow would come from.

"We intercepted the Grass Village team and prevented them from entering the exam", Suzume explained in an emotionless voice. "Then we took their place."

"Tried and tested methods, huh?" Kushina threw her kunai in the direction where she heard Suzume's voice and immediately rushed after her knife in a lightning attack. The sound of metal striking metal told her the kunai didn't reach its target, but she tried a desperate jump kick anyway. Her foot did not contact with anything though; instead a moment later she received a powerful shove in the back. The attack was not strong enough to seriously harm her, but it made her jump much longer and less controlled. When she landed, she felt her body splashing into the knee-deep water. She tasted salt.

"Let me repeat: you are too stubborn for your own good." Kushina heard Suzume landing nearby, but instead of a splash she heard the barely audible sound of a ninja standing on the surface of the water. "While you can move well without using your eyes, you can never defeat me like this. And if you look at me even once, you will fall under my control. How about giving up now?"

Kushina summoned some chakra to her feet and slowly got up as well. "Give up? You must be kidding. Yamanaka would make fun of me like forever. And my father is the Hokage! And he never, ever gave up on anything!"

"Your father is the Hokage…?" Suzume's voice wavered slightly, indicating a surprise. "Well, it doesn't really matter. How about we increase the difficulty level of this trial?" She jumped away from Kushina and ran towards the centre of the lake, her feet splashing against the surface lightly.

Not wasting a second, Kushina followed her with all the speed she could master. She didn't mind moving the battle to the lake; it was easier to run on it blindfolded and she had enough chakra left to spend a small amount on the water walking jutsu.

A soft whoosh of a thrown kunai prompted her to block it with her own; the missile directed at her plunged into the salty waters. Kushina responded with throwing five shuriken — all that she had on her — in a full spread, hoping to detect the opponent's presence. The plan worked; another clang of metal against metal and a louder step told her the location of Suzume.

"Got you now!" Kushina exclaimed, producing a string with several clay bombs attached. She quickly ran some chakra along the string and tossed it towards Suzume, then immediately sunk under the water.

As the water covered her head, she became surrounded with eerie murmurs of a different world. The water was warm and felt heavy, but Kushina didn't waste any time: instead she covered her ears and made sure she stayed underwater.

The explosion threw her deeper below the surface, making her head spin and threatening to crushing her ear membranes. The world swirled around her, trying to tear her clothes off her body. Kushina flailed her arms and legs, trying to maintain position, but with little success.

After the wave passed, at first she was too disoriented to tell which direction was up — which immediately became a problem, since her lungs were gasping for air that had been squeezed from her by the shockwave. Only a moment later she noticed that her eyes were no longer covered; her hitai-ate must had been swept away, now impossible to find.

_Oh, great._

Careful to keep her eyes closed, Kushina kicked towards the surface. It was still disturbed and wavy, but not enough to prevent her from standing on it, which she immediately did.

She was surrounded by silence, except for the crashing of waves in the distance. She couldn't even hear the others fighting, but it was unclear whether the battle on their part was already over or perhaps that they stopped fighting to check on the explosion.

A soft splash to her left told her that Suzume was back.

"That was unexpected", said the Sound ninja, judging from the sounds also climbing up to the surface. "Still, I have been training to endure more than that. Using an explosion just above the lake was a childish mistake; you should have used it back there, on the shore, to finish me off."

"What are you saying? You could be hurt then", smiled Kushina. "I want to kick your butt, not kill you."

"You will NOT underestimate me like this!" Suzume growled. "_Katon!_"

Kushina didn't have the time to do anything else than simply dive back into the water as a thick stream of flames passed over the spot where she had been standing a second earlier. She opened her eyes and turned to face the surface, expecting Suzume's dark shadow to appear at any time following her attack. It didn't.

_I underestimated her coolness_, Kushina thought. _If she doesn't attack me, then I need to attack her somehow. As long as I stay underwater, I should be safe…_ She turned around. _Or perhaps not._

Apparently, genjutsu and fire techniques weren't Suzume's only abilities. Within the little time that had passed, she somehow circled around Kushina's hiding spot and surprised her from behind, running towards her and reaching to grab her collar. Kushina managed to dodge the hand that shot through the surface, but Suzume still managed to grab Kushina's long hair. Kushina could only scream in protest after her face painfully resurfaced. Moreover, the pain made her open her eyes involuntarily.

Smiling diabolically, Suzume leaned to look straight into Kushina's strange eyes. "Now it's over", she said, her own eyes red and spiral-patterned. "Prepare to serve me!"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Kushina grabbed Suzume's wrist. "Stop it, it hurts dammit!"

Suzume not only let her go, but actually jumped back a few metres and grabbed her sword, half-drawing it.

"What the hell? How did you neutralize my jutsu?"

Kushina blinked. "What jutsu? Did you do something?"

Suzume ignored her; she seemed to be putting all her efforts into analysing her foe. Her expression was murderous and perhaps also frightened.

After a moment, Kushina's face lit up. "I know! You must be a doujutsu user, right? You use eye contact to transfer chakra to your opponent, right?"

"So what if I am?" Suzume didn't bother to hide frustration in her voice.

"Teehee… sorry about that, but I can't be affected by something like this. I can't see, you know?"

Suzume blinked. "What did you say?"

"Yeah… My mom is a Hyuuga and carries the byakugan gene. Apparently, in my case something went bad, so I have no pupils." Kushina smiled. "Fortunately, my dad is good friends with the Frog Sages, so they taught me a jutsu to form temporary pupils so that I could move around more easily. I can only see chakra with them, but it's normally enough to fight and stuff, since all people have chakra. Performing that jutsu every morning is a pain though…"

"I see." Suzume's eyes narrowed. "That explains your immunity to my sharingan, as well as your blindfighting skills. It changes nothing though!" She drew her sword completely. "I have superior skills, I am better armed and, most of all, my sharingan can follow your movements faster than even you can. You cannot win this battle."

"Nah, I'll just have to find an opening." Kushina shrugged and drew another kunai. "Come at me."

"Fine!" Suzume grabbed her sword with both hands. "Prepare to meet your ancestors!" With this, she launched herself at Kushina.

The blonde ninja ducked under a powerful, but straightforward slash and tried to trip the Uchiha, who nonetheless saw through her movement and avoided the kick. Suzume turned and attempted another rather simple slash, which was parried by Kushina with her kunai. Kushina tried to counter with a straight kick to the belly, but Suzume effortlessly moved to the side and hit Kushina in the side of her head with her bare fist, causing a brief explosion of pain, but not slowing Kushina down at all.

Having traded a few more blows with Kushina, Suzume jumped back again and assumed a defensive stance.

"You are really eager to die", she commented. "Perhaps you are too dumb to understand this, but you leave me no other choice than to kill you. Your comrades will not pose a problem even if they win, but I can't leave you behind. So give me the tokens or I'll finish you!"

"Kushina crossed her arms. "No."

"What? What do you mean, no?" Suzume looked mildly confused.

"I don't believe you. You're lying."

"And what makes you think so?"

Kushina sighed. "Honestly, Suzume-chan… I'm not stupid. You wouldn't do anything like this. You may be an Uchiha, but you wouldn't cut down a beautiful budding flower like me."

Suzume actually bared her teeth, but said nothing.

"You yourself pointed out that I could hurt you if I used my explosives on land", Kushina continued. "Why do you think I'm softer than you are? We both want to win, that much is obvious; but neither of us wants to seriously injure the other. That would be crazy, right? That's why your attacks were so lame; you wanted me to block them."

"E… even so, I can defeat you without killing you. I've been trained to do so!" Suzume pointed her sword at Kushina, who sighed again.

"Suzume-chan, I told you I wasn't stupid. I'm too good for you to simply incapacitate me without injuring me."

"Don't call me -"

"…so, let's just settle it like adults, okay? No blades, no bombs, just fists. You against me. Fair and square." Kushina grinned. "What do you think, Suzume-chan?"

Uchiha sighed and slightly lowered her head, but afterwards her features became emotionless again. "I accept your conditions. Dispose of all your weapons."

Without a second thought, Kushina dropped her remaining kunai into the lake. "That's it."

Mechanically, Suzume extended her arm and let go of the blade, which sunk to the bottom almost soundlessly. "After I beat you up, you will recover my sword for me."

Kushina laughed. "I'll do it anyway if you are nice to me!"

Suzume cringed, but said nothing. She simply adjusted the sleeves of her robe.

As soon as Kushina started running towards her opponent, Suzume did the same. Not taking her eyes from the other girl, Kushina formed a small rasengan in her left palm to create a distraction, but directed most of her remaining chakra in her face and upper body.

_Whatever happens, I only need to survive one hit._

As they clashed, a circular wave expanded to the shores of the lake, scaring away what little fauna was left in this desolate place.

A red eye blinked and turned shiny green.

"Ku…shina…"

oooOOOooo

"Hm, mmm mmmm… Hm, mmm mmmm…" Kushina hummed, bearing a huge grin of satisfaction on her face. She had a swollen lip, but she didn't seem to mind it at all, except for an uneasy grimace now and then.

She, Miramaru and Haiko were marching through the desert under an almost full moon. They all bore signs of the recent battle, but none seemed to be seriously hurt and a sizeable sack carried by Kushina was added to their inventory: a collection of tokens.

"So, what did actually happen between the two of you?" asked Miramaru. "I was a bit busy then, trying not to get killed by that falconer, and then suddenly you arrived with barely conscious Uchiha in your arms."

Kushina shrugged happily. "I can see chakra very well, so I could see that she was almost empty by then. That sharingan thing is really tiresome if you use it for too long. I asked her if she didn't want to solve it with fists and she agreed, because I'm sure she knew that I could simply dive underwater and evade her until she's out of chakra. So, guess what, she agreed to finish it in one last charge. And actually, epic scenes are another of my specializations! I put everything I had in defense and took her blow, which was pretty good by the way, then put out her lights." She emphasized her point by snapping her fingers.

"I see. So she had a weak point after all." Miramaru pondered it for a while. "But what happened after that? When you were carrying her, I think you were talking with her about something. What was it?"

Kushina looked away. "That's private stuff."

Miramaru snorted. "Wow, that's unexpected. An Uzumaki and an Uchiha falling in love? What a drama!"

"Shut up, blondie, or I'll kill you!"

"Okay, okay. Don't mind me, I know you're into brunettes now…"

"I'll tear your eyelashes out and make you eat your explosive scrolls!"

A little behind, Haiko displayed a tiny smile at the duo's antics. She never allowed herself to be too extroverted, but it seemed like a number of good things happened today. And some of them were not related to the chuunin exam at all.

THE END?


End file.
